12/12/2020 - grayfont wrote:

Soaked cork, fully oxidized. Completely undrinkable.

3/15/2020 - Wine Gopher wrote:

Way too young. I opened on Friday and decanted 2 hours. It was tannic and closed so I audibled to a different wine for dinner and funneled this back in to the bottle and vacu-vinned. Checked in on Saturday and it hadn't evolved from Friday. Opened again on Sunday and it was still closed. Decanted for an hour and ate with a steak. Scoring off of Sunday.

After long wait it was ready to drink. Muted nose, red fruited, hint of pepper. Medium body. Very smooth at this point. Medium finish.

1/17/2020 - Wine Gopher wrote:

I opened a 2013 Horsepower Grenache and this tonight. This is less than 1/3rd the price but it was so much more in-line with what I expect from Grenache and frankly better. Raspberry, strawberry, slight funk but dialed back, very smooth with no noticeable tannins and nice acidity. I would like a little more complexity with more earth or pepper but it is very good for what it is and at this price point. I'd call it a Pinot drinkers GSM blend and it reminds me of Domaine St. Prefert as a reference point.

8/7/2019 - sirpat00 Likes this wine:

Chappellet tasting (Napa Grill, Zurich): Part of a Chappellet tasting showing a total of 16 wines including a Prichard Hill mini-vertical (7 vintages from 1969 to 2016) attended by Cyril and Blakesley Chappellet. The one highlight I will never forget was clearly the 1969 Pritchard Hill that knocked me out of my socks. In more recent vintages the 2013-16 representatives come across less extracted and more complex that the 2007-12. The whites were decent but can't compete in the Permier League. Also had a bottle of the 2016 PNV which was unfortunately closed but showed great potential.

Tasting note:
All-embracing sensation from the first moment. Lots of fresh cigar tobacco, sweet savoury, bit of leather with a core of dark bramble berry fruit. A crescendo of aging notes still coupled with an intense fruit and baking spices. Surprisingly fresh with maybe just the very first signs of fatigue on the palate. Also an interesting phasing here with a first wave of acidity followed by a gradual creeping up of tannins that still coat your cheeks. A mind-blowing nose but with a palate that cannot quite keep up and that, I fear, could start to disintegrate slowly with too much more bottle age. But in any case this was spectacular and testament to how well Napa cabs can age. 97+

11/3/2017 - Myrison wrote:

Purchased from Garagiste who refunded the 6 bottles, all of which were bad, without issue.

2/20/2017 - Wine Gopher wrote:

For a Rotie Cellars wine, it is more fruit forward and fuller bodied than I expected but it definitely benefited from decanting. Darker fruit profile and slightly brooding--the Mourvedre really shows through.

11/28/2015 - khmark7 wrote:

Light, earthy and very delicate with good aromas. Not a wine or vintage that needs extended aging. Consumed with pheasant after the Wisconsin victory over Minnesota.

3/24/2015 - Pedroel Likes this wine:

I thought the predominance of merlot would make this ready to drink, but that was not the case...either that or this isn't my style. Not much richness or complexity. Good, but not very good. Try again in a year or two.

9/17/2014 - Rktekt3 wrote:

This sux. I actually wasted one usage of my coravin on this bottle.

At least I didnt buy the bottle. Gift.

On the plus side. It is a beautiful color of ruby red. On the nose it is nice as well. But if you are planning on drinking this, forgetaboutit.

3/23/2014 - oropeza Likes this wine:

All fruit in this one. Cherries, raspberries. A little earthiness, black tea, slight graham cracker. These 2012s are ready to drink now and this one is one of the better we've had so far... a nice break from the 10s which are lovely but need time and the 11s which for my taste might work well for drain cleaner...

2/13/2014 - alion wrote:

2 hours air. Lots of pencil lead and cedar. Dark plum nose suggests richness. But much fresher on the palate. After 3+ hours, nose becomes more exotic - red fruit, violet, cedar. Much more interesting than last year. With air, drinking well but could leave a few years. 92+

8/1/2013 - Mattshank wrote:

Take this job and Chave it! (Sunfish Cellars, Lillydale, MN): Nose: Burnt toast quality with black fruits. Unique but interesting nose. Palate: Black fruits and pepper with white pepper as well. A more amped up version of the Silene IMO. Medium length finish. Very elegant and balanced. 91+ points.

7/17/2013 - Nerdy Earth Boy Does not like this wine:

Maybe it was just me, but this wine did not have any depth and was clearly not that exciting Spanish vino that I had been anticipating. And I am stuck with 3 more bottles. Not thrilled about that.

7/14/2013 - Champagneinhand Does not like this wine:

Seriously hot. Not going to get better. I consider this flawed by the winemaking process. They should have shut down the yeast way before the ABV got this high. Thin sweet tannined dark fruits. This wouldn't be touched in Southern France for $25US. Why would anybody buy this when Guigal, Perrin & Fils and just about everybody else makes stellar cdR when compared to this. I don't think I will buy Maison Bleue again.

6/28/2013 - Wine Gopher wrote:

Decanted for an hour and drank with appetizers. In a lineup with QC Palengat, Continuum Novicium, Chappellet Cab Franc and a grenache from Maison Bleue. This was the WOTN for multiple people and I scored it even with the Maison Bleue at the top of the list.

Light-medium body, complex with dark fruits, spice and funk you typically find in the WW Rocks area this wine is notable for its plush tannins and acidic backbone. This was my last of 3 bottles. I feel like I need to find some more of this. I planned to hold it longer and see how it develops but I knew friends would like it so I couldn't resist sharing.

6/15/2013 - S1 Does not like this wine:

Popped and bonged (Vinturi). Monster extraction and up front sweetness of fruit and oak but after an hour it completely fell apart. No structure and no elegance. I keep waiting for the WA epiphany; this isn't it.

11/25/2012 - SonomaWilliam wrote:

A Walla Walla syrah under 13& alc, in neutral oak. Bravo & wow.
Not sure how I missed Waters at #WBC in Walla Walla, but I won't if I return.

92% Syrah, 8& Grenache

The color is fairly clear, lighter purply brick hue you can see through.
The nose is slightly funky, meaty, in a good way. Rose petals, spice.

Its light & savory in the mouth. Elegant, not too complex, but layers of nuance & subtlety you can pull apart, or simply quaff & enjoy.

Per other reviewers notes, I don't find anything 'typical' about this syrah, nor would I call the acidity anything crazy or overly bright.
Its balanced & elegant.

Bravo. Will have to try more of the portfolio.

4/12/2013 - shaferguy91 wrote:

Decanted 2 hours.

4/19/2013 - Sleepy Dave wrote:

Alcohol :: 14%
Slight dark garnet core than the 98. This is not really showing and I only able to get hint of smoked meat, dried fig paste, kitsch and spices. Not expressive but it is focus and lifted. Medium bodied. Soft entry but expands on the palate effortlessly with complex flavors growing. It has good depth and intensity but the wine remains fresh and delineated. The tannin is ripe and firm but well integrated which giving the rounded, silky mouthfeel with good energy driving to the really long, persistent finished.

4/15/2013 - BeyondTheMargin.net Likes this wine:

I think this is on the downhill now (or at least my most recent bottle suggested that it is). Light cherry and strong oak with notable acidity. It just seems to have less depth and was more unidimensional than before. Drink up!

3/11/2013 - CK6865 Likes this wine:

Decanted for 3 hours, nice wine not great , needs to be paired with food , overall a little disappointed , but it is cheaper than Continuum by alot ,will pass on next offering

12/11/2012 - VTCellarDweller Likes this wine:

This has been an extremely polarizing wine based on the TN history on CT and WB posts. Bottle variation is the obvious thing to latch onto, but that is an effect, not the cause.
I won't speculate on a cause for it and will comment only on what I have tasted as it has been filtered through my own biased preferences, 40 years of enthusiastic tasting, and personal palate sensitivity at this stage of my life.
We purchased 2+ cases of this from three different east coast merchants over a five month period in 2011. The wines are now racked in our cellar with no way to determine which bottles came from any particular seller. They are part of a 12+ case section of 2001 Rioja in our cellar. Needless to say, I am a big fan of this vintage.
With that preamble, we have opened two of these bottles this year both of which were excellent and evidenced none of the dill pickle, overly acidic, rubber tire character described by many who have given this wine poor marks.
The bottle we opened last night was decanted for 3 hours before serving. It offered nuanced aromatics with a flavor profile and mouth feel that is close to my original tasting note of 7/16/2011. Yes there is still a significant presence of American Oak evidenced by prominent vanilla and coconut but this has integrated noticeably and the tannins have softened since the first bottle 18 months ago. It has rounded out developing a more moderated and refined presentment. Hopefully we will not encounter any of the ugly bottles that some of the others have.
Based on my experience, this is a beautifully balanced wine with exceptional potential and a distinctive personality that some will like and others may detest.